Katie’s Letter to Her Children

To help our clients express their real stories about Family Works, we asked them to write a letter to their children. The following is one of those letters. Read More

Marla Improves Her Odds

Marla enjoyed going to the casino once a month with her three sisters. It thrilled her to win money, even if it was just a small amount. She liked it so much that she started going to the casino to unwind after work.

It wasn’t until the bank contacted her husband Bob about the missed house payments that he became aware that Marla had incurred $30,000 in new debt... Read More

Grace Restores Her Self-Image

Grace was a victim of her husband’s abuse throughout her 20-year marriage. He blamed her for a brain injury that impaired her understanding. For years he would not allow Grace to groom herself or attend to her medical needs. Finally she ended up in the hospital, and the staff called Heartland Family Service. Read More

Jane Restores Her Life

Jane finally gave in to her sister and made the call to Heartland Family Service. She knew she needed help for her depression, but had put it off because she just didn’t believe anything would help. At 49 years old, she had been employed on and off again for 13 years. After her divorce two years ago, Jane had fallen so deeply into her dark world that she was “stuck” without the motivation or energy to look for work... Read More

Max Remembers How to Smile

Our Senior Center director received a frantic call from a woman who was looking for a place for her father, Max, to go during the day. He had suffered a stroke two years ago and had become severely depressed. His wife was still working full-time, and she could not leave Max alone any longer. Read More

Carmen Finds Comfort in a New Home (watch video)

Last fall, the Omaha/Council Bluffs area partnered with Common Ground’s 100K Homes Campaign to locate, and identify the most vulnerable homeless individuals. Our staff found Carmen right away. She has a long history of homelessness and is terminally ill with cancer, so we immediately moved her into an apartment. She spent a warm and safe winter in her own home. In spite of living more than a decade on the street, Carmen’s last days will be peaceful. Read More

Paw-Wah’s Journey to Kindergarten

“Paw Wah” is the name of a bright, spunky four year-old girl from a girl from Burma (Myanmar), a member of the Karen people. Her family arrived in Omaha in January after living for 15 years in refugee camp in Thailand, where they fled to escape political and religious persecution in their village. Life in the refugee camp was harsh, but Paw Wah’s family was one of the fortunate few to start a new life in Omaha. Read More

Angela Gets Clean for Her Children

Angela’s first baby was born when she was only 15 years old. Her mother told her, “If you are old enough to make a baby, then you are old enough to raise one,” and kicked her out of the house. Scared and alone with nowhere else to go, Angela moved in with her boyfriend. Too young and immature to be without a parent, she dropped out of school and began using marijuana daily. The only friends she had led her down a path to further drug use. Read More

Addison Makes The Grade

Addison, a high school sophomore, was failing at school. Struggling with posttraumatic stress disorder, she refused to get on the bus in the morning, she avoided the other students and she visited the nurse’s and counselor’s offices often. Read More

Tasha – a Home Far from Perfect (watch video)

In hindsight, Tasha says she should have known. Even before her ten-year marriage began, the abuse from her husband had started--the occasional physical threat, name-calling and degrading treatment. Read More

Ron is No Longer Homeless (watch video)

Ron had a good job and a home on a golf course. But then he developed an illness that changed his life. Too sick to work, he lost his home. Then he ran out of money and even his friends could no longer help. Read More

Zabrina Keeps Her Kids During Treatment (watch video)

This is a true story of a mom who kept her children with her while she went into treatment for drug abuse. Zabrina knew she needed residential treatment for her drug addiction. But she refused to leave her children for the time she would be away. Then she learned about Family Works. For six months she received treatment, wrap-around services and 24/7 support to make her recovery stronger. Today she has been sober for two years. Read More

Sam and Dora No Longer Live in Their Car

Five-year-old Dora and her mother Samantha had been living in their car for the whole summer. They had been evicted from their apartment in the spring, after the third month of not being able to pay the rent. But the weather was getting cold, so they stayed in homeless shelters in order to get a warm meal and a cot to sleep on. Samantha never got a good night’s rest anymore, but she knew that Dora slept more soundly inside. Read More

Shanita Gets Her Life Back

Shanita seemed to lead a normal life. She attended community college and held a job. But inside her family, all was not well. As a teenager, Shanita began drinking alcohol and smoking marijuana. Then, she began using methamphetamine, sometimes even daily. Read More

Jonah and His Mom Were Afraid of His Dad

The grief she suffered from her father’s death pushed Claire off the path to the future he wanted for her. She dropped out of college, started using drugs, and fell under the spell of an abusive man. Eight years passed in a fog of alcohol, drugs and domestic violence. Four children were born, and she was pregnant again. Read More

Leah Learns How to Be a Parent

Sixteen-year old Leah was still a child when she arrived at the Heartland Family Service Children's Emergency Shelter with two of her own children, ages 1 and 3. This young girl and her children had been removed from her aunt's home for emotional, physical and sexual abuse. She had lived with her maternal aunt since she was five years old, ever since her own young mother left Leah for an "overnight" and never returned. Read More

Ed Finds Friends at Our Senior Center

Every day, for six years, Ed visited his wife at an Omaha home for Alzheimer's patients. Every day, he fed her lunch and dinner. When she died, he thought he didn't have anywhere to turn. Read More

Lisa Gets a Second Chance

Lisa seemed to lead a normal life. She attended college and held a part-time job. But inside her family, all was not well. As a teenager, Lisa began drinking alcohol and smoking marijuana. Then, she began using methamphetamine, sometimes even daily. Read More

Siblings Stay Together in Our Emergency Shelter

From the outside, 17-year-old Amber and her 8- and 6-year-old siblings, Keisha and Donte, appear to be happy kids enjoying themselves and smiling with one another. What you cannot see from the outside is the struggle they have been through. Read More

George Makes Some Friends

The nice young woman next door was worried about her 77 year-old neighbor, George. She had seen him in the hall and he looked terrible--no shoes, dirty shirt inside out. He had been wearing the same clothes for a week, and she suspected he was sleeping in them. Read More

Beth Heals…and Then Leads

At only 29 years old, Beth's life was more than heading in the wrong direction - it was out of control. Since the first day she used methamphetamine, Beth began to lose herself. In a short time, her desire to use forced her to sacrifice all the things she had held dear. Her marriage suffered -- and then failed. Her relationships with her parents and her children were strained, as they tried to understand why Beth had changed so much, and so quickly. Read More

Sandy Sleeps Easier Now

Six year-old Sandy woke with a start and sat up in bed when she heard the crash. Her parents were fighting in the kitchen, and by the sound, she knew her father had just thrown the big kettle at her mom. Read More

Three Abandoned Children Get a New Start

No one knew for sure how much time had passed when they were found. Three fragile children huddled in the back seat of car with no driver, no mother, no one around. It was purely by accident that someone saw them at all - not one of them had made a sound, as if they learned to stop waiting for someone to arrive. All of them lay still, nearly naked in dirty diapers and a blanket. All of them quiet - even the youngest at five weeks old, knew there was no one to answer his cry. His sisters - 18 months and three years - silent, sitting hopelessly quiet, almost resigned to being abandoned. Read More